Space News Update - October 28, In the News Story 1: Story 1: Giant Sunspot Keeps Firing Off Huge Solar Flares Story 2: Story 2: Hubble creates view of Comet Siding Spring alongside the red planet Story 3: Story 3: Einstein's Gravity Waves Could Be Found with New Method Departments The Night Sky ISS Sighting Opportunities NASA-TV Highlights Space Calendar Food for Thought Space Image of the Week

Giant Sunspot Keeps Firing Off Huge Solar Flares

Hubble creates view of Comet Siding Spring alongside the red planet

Einstein's Gravity Waves Could Be Found with New Method

The Night Sky Tuesday, October 28 This evening Mars is below the Moon at nightfall, as shown above. Wednesday, October 29 The Ghost of Summer Suns. Halloween is approaching, and this means that Arcturus, the star sparkling low in the west-northwest in twilight, is taking on its role as "the Ghost of Summer Suns."What does this mean? For several days centered on October 29th every year, Arcturus occupies a special place above your local landscape. It closely marks the spot there where the Sun stood at the same time, by the clock, during warm June and July — in broad daylight, of course. So, in the last days of October each year, you can think of Arcturus as the chilly Halloween ghost of the departed summer Sun. Thursday, October 30 First-quarter Moon (exactly so at 3:33 p.m. EDT). As twilight fades out, use binoculars to look a bit right of the Moon for Alpha Capricorni, a wide, lovely yellow double star. Look to Alpha's lower left for Beta Capricorni, a less wide, more difficult double for binoculars; the secondary star in this case is fainter. Mercury is now in its best dawn display for (The blue 10° scale is about the width of your fist held at arm's length.) Friday, October 31 For Halloween after dark, the quarter Moon shines in the south. It's between Altair, very high to its upper right, and Fomalhaut, down to its lower left. Saturday, November 1 This evening at nightfall, look for Fomalhaut almost straight below the Moon. Vega is the brightest star very high in the west-northwest. Capella, similarly bright, is rising in the northeast.Daylight-saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for most of North America. Clocks fall back an hour. Sky & Telescope

ISS Sighting Opportunities Sighting information for other cities can be found at NASA’s Satellite Sighting InformationSatellite Sighting Information ISS For Denver:

NASA-TV Highlights (all times Eastern Daylight Time) Watch NASA TV online by going to the NASA websiteNASA website 12:25 p.m., Tuesday, October 28 - ISS Expedition 41 In-Flight interviews for NASA Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore with Nashville, TN Public Radio and WCYB-TV, Tri-Cities TV (all channels) 2:45 a.m., Wednesday, October 29 - Coverage of the Launch of the ISS Progress 57 Cargo Ship to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan (all channels) 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 29 - Coverage of the Docking of the ISS Progress 57 Cargo Ship to the ISS (all channels) 12:20 p.m., Wednesday, October 29 - ISS Expedition 41 In-Flight Interviews with Nashville Public Radio and WCBY-TV, Tri-Cities TV for Tennessee and Virginia with NASA Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore (all channels) 8:05 a.m., Thursday, October 30 - ISS Expedition 41 In-Flight Event for ESA with German Media and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst (with English translation) (NTV-1 (Public), NTV-2 (Education)) 10 a.m., Friday, October 31 - Video File of the ISS Expedition 42/43 Qualification Training Simulation Runs at Star City, Russia (all channels)

Space Calendar JPL Space Calendar  Oct 28 - Comet P/2014 M4 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (1.422 AU)Comet P/2014 M4 (PANSTARRS)Closest Approach To Earth  Oct 28 - Comet P/2009 WX51 (Catalina) Closest Approach To Earth (2.021 AU)Comet P/2009 WX51 (Catalina)Closest Approach To Earth  Oct 28 - Asteroid 2355 Nei Monggol Occults HIP (6.4 Magnitude Star)Asteroid 2355 Nei Monggol Occults HIP  Oct 28 - [Oct 21] Asteroid 2014 UG5 Near-Earth Flyby (0.074 AU)Asteroid 2014 UG5Near-Earth Flyby  Oct 28 - Asteroid Dudleymoore Closest Approach To Earth (1.553 AU)Asteroid Dudleymoore  Oct th Anniverary (1974), Luna 23 Launch (USSR Moon Lander)Luna 23  Oct 29 - Progress M-25 Soyuz U Launch (International Space Station 57P)Progress M-25Soyuz U Launch  Oct 29 - GPS 2F-8 Atlas 5 LaunchGPS 2F-8Atlas 5 Launch  Oct 29 - Asteroid Bullock Closest Approach To Earth (2.172 AU)Asteroid Bullock  Oct 29 - Centaur Object Bienor At Opposition ( AU)Centaur Object BienorAt Opposition  Oct 30 - [Oct 26] Meridian 7 Soyuz 2-1A-Fregat LaunchMeridian 7  Oct 30 - Comet P/2013 N3 (PANSTARRS) At Opposition (2.596 AU)Comet P/2013 N3 (PANSTARRS)At Opposition  Oct th Anniversary (1999), Discovery of the Los Angeles Meteorite (Mars Meteorite)Los Angeles Meteorite  Oct 31 - [Oct 25] Chang'e 5 T1 Return To Earth (China Moon Orbiter), SuccessfulChang'e 5 T1Return To Earth  Oct 31 - Comet 183P/Korlevic-Juric At Opposition (3.832 AU)Comet 183P/Korlevic-JuricAt Opposition  Oct 31 - Comet C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS) Closest Approach To Earth (0.953 AU)Comet C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS)Closest Approach To Earth  Oct 31 - Asteroid Mauna Kea Closest Approach To Earth (1.603 AU)Asteroid Mauna Kea  Oct 31 - Plutino (2004 UX10) At Opposition ( AU)Plutino (2004 UX10)At Opposition  Nov 01 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (19 Degrees)MercuryElongation  Nov 01 - Asteroid 2014 TL17 Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU)Asteroid 2014 TL17Near-Earth Flyby  Nov 01 - [Oct 26] Asteroid 2014 US34 Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)Asteroid 2014 US34Near-Earth Flyby  Nov 01 - Asteroid 878 Mildred Closest Approach To Earth (0.932 AU)Asteroid 878 Mildred  Nov 01 - Asteroid Sues Closest Approach To Earth (1.975 AU)Asteroid Sues  Nov 01 - Asteroid 1241 Dysona Closest Approach To Earth (2.447 AU)Asteroid 1241 Dysona Launched on a Proton-K/D, Luna 23 landed in Mare Crisium, but fell over upon landing. Photos by the NASA LRO showed the Luna 23 spacecraft lying on its side on the lunar surface. Luna 24 is shown, which landed in the same area successfully and returned a sample to Earth.

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Space Image of the Week Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Bolte (UCSC) Sunspots and Solar Eclipse